More staff, fewer restraints ordered at seniors home where 91-year-old died

SUMMERLAND, B.C. – Health officials have ordered changes, including increasing staff levels at a Summerland seniors home where a 91-year-old man died after being left alone for days in his room.

The Interior Health Authority says Summerland Seniors Village will remain under third-party oversight until those improvements are in place.

Three reviews have been conducted at the facility since Alfredo Bonaldi died Dec. 7, after a family member found him in bed in his assisted living room suffering from several ailments.

Bonaldi had not appeared for meals in the seniors’ home for several days but no staff checked on him.

Summerland Seniors Village has been given a deadline to increase staffing, improve nursing oversight and support for staff, and make less use of restraints.

Interior Health says it will continue to monitor Retirement Concepts, which operates 15 seniors’ homes in B.C., from Williams Lake to Vancouver Island, as well as one facility in Montreal.